AUS recognizes top undergraduate student research projects

Student researchers at American University of Sharjah (AUS) were honored at the Annual Student Research Award Ceremony held at the AUS Main Building this week. The annual awards organized by the AUS Office of Research and Graduate Studies and sponsored by Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) and British Petroleum (BP), at AUS.

The 27 winners of the 2014-2015 academic year awards were chosen by a faculty committee, from a pool of nominees presented by the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Architecture, Art and Design; the College of Engineering; and the School of Business Administration. An AUS selection committee evaluated each project according to communication and presentation, completeness of application, depth of research and investigation, and innovation as well as creativity.

Attending the ceremony were Kevin Mitchell, AUS Interim Provost; Dr. Khaled Assaleh, Interim Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies; Khalad Abdalla, Head of Internal Division at SIB; Mohammad AlNakhi, Technical Adviser in BP UAE; and other AUS senior officials, parents and students.

Dr. Assaleh explained the selection process of the winning students. "A committee of faculty members selects a group of projects from the applications by students and the selected projects get sent forth to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, which acts as a facilitator. The university-level committee then selects and evaluates all the projects recommended by the colleges and selects a subset of these projects."

"Many of the undergraduate students we honor at this ceremony end up continuing their graduate studies on the same winning topics," said Dr. Assaleh.

Mitchell then welcomed representatives, students and parents to the ceremony and thanked the sponsor representatives for their support in advancing students' research. "AUS benefits from extensive collaborations with external partners who support faculty and student research. Sharjah Islamic Bank and BP have contributed immensely to advancing student research through their generous, and long-standing, support of the Student Research Awards program," he said.

"AUS is committed to educating lifelong learners who display mastery in the core competencies of their areas of specialization, and who communicate clearly, think critically and solve problems creatively. The students receiving awards for their research represent a variety of modes of intellectual inquiry that reflect the strength and diversity of disciplines at AUS," added Mitchell.

AlNakhi from BP spoke next and thanked the AUS faculty and students for their hard work. "It was very interesting to go through the projects from the different colleges at AUS, see the different teams and their efforts. It gives us a chance to stay up-to-date with new initiatives and projects," he said.